Wastewater filters in the city of California Beach from Mexico, overturning residents

California resident, Shannon Johnson, lives a few blocks from the Turquoise water of Imperial Beach and the waves of “little perfect curls”, but Johnson and his two young children did not step on the sand in a year.

“Every time we pass the beach, they ask: ‘Will it be clean? When are they going to fix it?'” Said Johnson, 45, former activist of the Surfrider Foundation, who has been living in Imperial Beach, a small coastal city of 26,000 people at 20 minutes from San Diego, since 2010.

Heavy metals, toxic chemicals and bacteria, including E. coli, have been detected in the water, according to a report from the San Diego State University published last month. The researchers described the pollution “a public health crisis.” It has resulted in more than 700 consecutive days of beach closures, leaving residents like Johnson feeling confined inside without an end in sight.

In the last five years, more than 100 billion gallons of unwanted wastewater have fluid through the Tijuana River of Mexico and to the Pacific Ocean on the banks of the coastal city, contaminating the air, water and soil and raising environmental and public health risks.

In addition to concerns about exposure to pollutants, another factor derived from wastewater is causing residents to remain in: “It is the worst smell. It gets into the lungs. They get into clothes. It is disgusting,” said Johnson.

Aged wastewater plants and an “unbearable odor”

The problem of wastewater is not new, concerns about the contamination of the date of the Tijuana River at least to the 1930s, but the problem has worsened over the years.[[“60 minutes” reported the problem In 2020 – look more at the video player above.]

In the Quid of this there are two wastewater plants aged on both sides of the border between the United States and Mexico: the international wastewater treatment plant by South Bay and the wastewater treatment plant of San Antonio de los Buenos. The first, located in San Diego County, was built at the end of the 1990s to accommodate the influx of wastewater of the growing population in Baja California, Mexico.

“Pathogens and hazardous chemicals in contaminated waters represent a spectrum of short and long term health risks, which cover gastrointestinal problems to neurological disorders,” according to the SDSU report.

The plant has overwhelmed as the population increased to more than 3 million, from 2020, and is poorly equipped to handle extreme climatic events such as Hurricane Hilary In 2023, which exacerbated existing problems with plant infrastructure. On January 11, Mexico marked the beginning of its rehabilitation efforts at the wastewater treatment plant in San Antonio de los Buenas in Tijuana, which releases millions of wastewater gallons per day in the Pacific Ocean. The country agreed to invest $ 33 million in the replacement of the decrepit plant and has also contributed $ 50 million to the South Bay International wastewater treatment plant.

In 2022, $ 300 million were designated in federal funds to rehabilitate the plant, inspiring optimism among some residents. Marvel Harrison, 67, a psychologist who moved to Imperial Beach in 2020 with her retired husband, said they felt relieved when they learned about financing.

But since then, the plant has accumulated $ 150 million in repairs, prolonging expansion efforts and has led a governor of California Gavin Newsom to ask Congress to congress $ 310 million.

For Harrison and her husband, her future in Imperial Beach depends on a timely solution. In 2015, the couple began the process of building their home in the water, investing in expensive characteristics such as customized windows to incorporate an exterior internal life space. Now, almost a decade later, the windows remain closed and contemplate move.

“I find myself looking at other places where we could live. And that is really discouraging since this is where and how we wanted to be retired,” he said, and pointed out that being in his sixty years, “it’s not how we can expect.”

Johnson has faced a similar choice. Although her husband’s family has roots in Imperial Beach that dates back to the 1950s, she said they often look at other options. “You live here to be outside, and we really can’t get out and feel comfortable and safe,” he said.

In a collection of letters from members of the community compiled by Harrison asking the elected officials to take action, a resident described the stench as “similar to being trapped in a portable bath”, a smell so strong that you wake up at night.

Potential health impacts reach beyond the stench

But the air carries more than a stench. A recent study found evidence of coastal water pollution of the Tijuana River in Marino spray spray capable of potentially spreading enough to reach places such as schools and homes that would otherwise be touched by pollution. The implications of air pollution are not yet known and need more studies, according to SDSU’s report, leaving some community members fighting for answers.

Johnson, who said he has health problems and has had two inexplicable pulmonary embolisas, cares if the environment could be a contributing factor. “At the bottom of my mind, I like, does that have something to do with the air that I am breathing?”

His children, aged 9 and 10, attend primary school near the River Valley, where the smell can be especially strong. “They are like, ‘Why is it so smelly? Is it safe?'” Johnson said. “I am like, yes, I suppose yes. What are I supposed to tell you?”

In some cases, residents’ concerns have led to changes in lifestyle beyond not being able to enjoy the beach.

Harrison, who said that his community is in a state of “chronic anguish”, thinks twice before inviting guests to stay at home for concern about possible health impacts. She said that wastewater is a constant issue of conversation within their social circles.

“As much as the stench permeates the air, the theme permeates the stress and anxiety of everyone’s life here,” he said.

Another reminder of the impact of wastewater is its effect on wildlife. It is believed that bottle nose dolphins, increasingly stranded in San Diego, died from sepsis caused by a bacterium that is sometimes found in contaminated water. According to the SDSU report, dolphins “serve as sentries for the risk of possible human exhibitions to dangerous bacteria.”

Among the most urgent health threats of wastewater, according to the report, there are human and livestock diseases in Mexico that have been eradicated in California, and antibiotic resistant pathogens.

“There is a potential for short and long -term health risks associated with the exhibition, which really underlines the need for more comprehensive monitoring and research,” said Dr. Paula Stigler Granados, one of the main authors of the report, at a recent press conference.

Imperial Beach has been beaten by a wave of wastewater complications. But for Johnson, the goal is simple: “I just want to see this resolved so that my children can return to the way it is supposed to be and enjoy the beach.”

• Mexico
• Atmosphere
• San Diego
• California
• Pacific Ocean